


All in a Day's Work

by Strawberry_Requiem



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Broken Bones, Comedy, Gen, Implied Sexual Content, Minor Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:27:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24497191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strawberry_Requiem/pseuds/Strawberry_Requiem
Summary: Mercedes von Martritz has seen all sorts of injuries in her time as the Kingdom Army's physician. She has patched up so many wounds and dealt with all sorts of illnesses without problem.Perhaps Byleth's injury following the war was one of the most interesting, however.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Mercedes von Martritz, Mercedes von Martritz & My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 3
Kudos: 28





	All in a Day's Work

Mercedes sat down in the infirmary with her morning tea. She didn't like to eat first thing in the morning, she found it upset her stomach to do so. Besides, she was generally up so early that the dining hall had yet to open anyway. That had been especially true in the weeks following their victory in Enbarr. Soldiers needed to be patched up, and she and Manuela had been working round the clock to make sure everyone got optimal care. 

Things had begun to slow down the last week, however, which was beneficial. Smaller workload meant less need for both physicians in the infirmary, so Manuela took a much needed morning off. Still, even by herself, Mercedes found herself struggling with things to do and seeking guidance with that elsewhere. Dimitri's coronation was approaching and preparations needed to be made for that. No one had  _ asked _ Mercedes to lend a hand, exactly, but she wanted to. 

Her cup of tea was half-finished when Byleth appeared in the doorway. Her saucer-like eyes scanned the room briefly, probably looking for patients before she committed to joining her at the small table. 

"Good morning, Byleth. You're looking well. Is there something I can help you with? Coronation preparation, perhaps?"

Byleth shook her head. "Nothing like that, no. I think I became injured last night, though. Could you look at it?"

Mercedes had a hard time picking up any signs of pain on Byleth's face, but then again, she had a hard enough time reading her in the best moments. Even so, she didn't doubt the injury or pain she must be experiencing; she had seen Byleth on the battlefield after having sustained severe injuries, fighting beside her troops as though nothing had happened. 

"Of course. I'll just finish my tea and we'll get started."

"Take your time, Mercedes."

After Mercedes finished her tea, she instructed Byleth to sit on one of the examination tables. Then, she pulled the screen from the far side of the room over to conceal Byleth's modesty in the event that she would need her to undress to get a better look at the injury. She brought a few more things over, some tools, an oil lamp so that she could get more light, and a chair for herself to sit in. 

"What seems to be the problem?"

"I hurt something in my torso last night." 

The straightforward approach to the injury left Mercedes in a strange situation. Byleth was as stony-faced as ever and made no motion to apply pressure to or grab the afflicted area as she had expected. In her months as an army physician, she expected something, some indication of pain from her patients and more descriptors than what Byleth was willing to give. She steepled her fingers and pursed her lips, thinking of a different approach. 

"Can you show me where it hurts?"

Byleth patted her right side, around where her ribs were.

Mercedes frowned. "I will need to take off your shirt if that is alright with you. Just so we can get a better look and I can feel around for the issue."

While Byleth undressed, Mercedes washed her hands in a washbasin with some lavender-scented soap. She found the smell helped to focus her mind when she was working in the infirmary and favored the scented soaps, despite the higher price point, to their alternatives. 

The angry purple bruise climbing up Byleth's side from her ribs was the only thing Mercedes noticed when she turned around. "Goodness," she exclaimed, grabbing her oil lamp and bringing it over to give the wound more light, "that looks awful painful." 

She pressed a light hand to the point, already feeling the swelling stemming from near the fourth rib. While she did, she wondered where Byleth could have sustained such an injury. Training sessions were incredibly lax as of recent due to coronation preparation, and Byleth had been busy preparing for her own ascent to Archbishop. It wasn't entirely out of the question that Byleth had snuck in a training session, but Mercedes had never seen her become injured like this from  _ just  _ training.

"It's excruciatingly painful." Byleth said, still managing to keep any hint of pain from her voice; she hadn't even winced. 

Mercedes removed her hand quickly. "Well, I think this rib may be broken, but I'll need to feel around a bit more to be sure. Is that alright?" She couldn't figure a reason how Byleth would have injured herself; things had been rather calm for the last handful of weeks. She would have expected an explanation from anyone else; goddess knew Annette and Sylvain loved to give them, but Byleth sat there, just as cool and composed as if nothing was wrong with her while Mercedes applied her hand once more and began feeling around for the fracture. 

"Yes, I think I feel it. You most definitely broke a rib." She said with a nod.

"How do you treat that?"

"Well, with lots of rest. You should put ice on it today and tomorrow to help the swelling, and don't do anything laborious for a few weeks. I could also mix up some tonics for you to drink to help with pain if you need it, though you should only drink them when it's unbearable."

Byleth nodded. "Should I come back later, or…"

"Oh no. I'll have someone drop them off to your room when they're done. You really should be resting."

* * *

Mercedes saw a couple more soldiers after Byleth left. One needed an amputation several weeks ago and was coming in to have the wound it left checked and bandaged again, and the other needed to have her stitches removed. It kept her busy, busy enough that she worked straight through breakfast and was nearing lunch before she had a moment to pull herself away and prepare the tonics she promised Byleth.

She brought them with her to the dining hall, the little glass vials tucked into the pockets of her skirts clinked while she grabbed herself a tray and surveyed the meal laid out on the long counters. She was just grabbing for a milk bun to have with the venison stew and salad she decided on when Dimitri came up behind her, balancing two trays on his left arm while he picked out food.

"Good afternoon, Dimitri," She said cheerfully, "would you like some help with that?"

"Good afternoon, Mercedes," he bowed his head politely, "I appreciate the offer, but I think I can manage. I was going to take lunch to Byleth since she should be on bed rest for a time."

"Oh," Mercedes set her tray down and fished out the vials from her pockets, "since you're going to take Byleth's lunch to her, could you give her these? It's the tonics I made to help with her pain."

"Of course," he took them and tucked them into his trouser pockets, "I would like to thank you for helping her. I hadn't realized how rough I had gotten last night until I saw the bruise this morning and she mentioned the pain."

"So you two were training last night, then? Byleth didn't mention how she became injured when I saw her last."

Dimitri's face turned pink at her words, and he quickly began loading up his two trays with food. "Uh...no. We weren't training last night."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> As always, [you can find me on Twitter.](https://www.twitter.com/queenofthisdick)


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